The stage is set for a new season of The Voice, and several of Norway’s hidden singing talents will once again enter the stage to impress the mentors Matoma (30), Ina Wroldsen (37), Yosef Wolde-Mariam (44) and Espen Lind (50).
– The greatest singing talent I’ve seen on The Voice!
One of the participants who impresses a lot in the first episode is Alessandra Mele (19).
Norwegian roots
The Italian-Norwegian 19-year-old was born and raised in Cisano sul Neva, Savona in Italy, but has a Norwegian mother and therefore speaks fluent Norwegian. She has always loved music – and Norway.
When her mother found love with her Italian father, they moved to Italy and settled where Alessandra grew up. When Alessandra was little, it was her mother who was at home with her while her father worked, and since her mother was not very good at Italian, she spoke Norwegian with her daughter.
– We always spoke Norwegian together, so the Norwegian language has been with me throughout my life, the 19-year-old tells TV 2.
– Alessandra and her mother. Photo: Private
–
She says that she always travels home to Norway at Christmas to visit her Norwegian grandparents, and has a good relationship with the Norwegian side of the family. Alessandra, on the other hand, can tell that she moved to Norway alone, without her mother.
– I miss my mom. She’s my best friend. So it’s difficult, but my mother is very proud of me for making the choice to move to Norway.
The TV 2 profile has moved away from home
She can also tell that even though she has not lived in Norway for very long, she thrives well.
– The people in Norway are incredibly nice, and have a calm and nice energy. In Italy, people are a little more angry, she laughs.
Something she, on the other hand, has not become completely used to, is the Norwegian winter – and here she has learned an important rule of living.
– It’s so slippery! I do not understand how Norwegians manage to walk on the slippery slope without falling, she explains.
– I remember once when I went out, and then I said: How do Norwegians manage to walk without falling? And just when I said that, I fell! So I learned not to say it out loud, because then I fall, she says with a laugh.
The Norwegian music dream
Alessandra has always been interested in music, but admits it was always something that got in the way of her musical dream when she lived in Italy.
– There are many reasons why I moved to Norway. My life in Italy was not the easiest, and I missed my family in Norway very much, she says frankly.
– I could not do what I wanted to do, which was to throw myself into the music. Therefore, I decided to move to Norway, and to focus on music here, she continues.
When Alessandra told her friends in Italy about the plans to move to Norway, they said that she should consider signing up for a Norwegian music competition – namely The Voice.
– IMPRESSED: Three of the mentors turned around when Alessandra entered the stage for the first time. Photo: Robert Dreier Holand / TV 2
–
– Since I had already decided to move to Norway to study music, so I wanted to see what it was like to live in Norway. So that’s why I thought I should sign up for The Voice, says the 19-year-old.
Alessandra can tell that she has applied to the Norwegian Academy of Music, and is now at the beginning of the admission process.
Good relationship with the mentor
Although the 19-year-old can not reveal too much about her participation in the music program so far, she can tell that she has had an incredibly nice experience.
– Everything is very professional. You get everything you need to train with the music and with the voice. Also those who work in production are incredibly kind.
– Alessandra thrives in Norway. Photo: Private
–
Alessandra chose Espen Lind as a mentor, and can tell that they had good chemistry from day one – in addition to a random and funny story.
– I had a Norwegian boyfriend, and we always listened to the song “Scared of Heights” together, she says.
– I do not know much about Norwegian music, so when I found out that it was Espen’s song I was completely put out! It was a lot of fun, she continues.
Even though she had read a lot about all the mentors before she stood on the stage and made the choice, it was still not easy to choose. She, on the other hand, went for the chemistry she felt there and then.
– I went for my gut feeling, and I’m very happy about it.
You see The Voice on Fridays at 20 on TV 2, or whenever you want on TV 2 Play.
–
